Boss OD-3

***Just a note to everyone who's reading it: this review is going to be very analytical and accurate (and not misleading like a lot of other ones that I've read).***

The unit is *very* easy to use with it's simple 3-knob setup. The manual doesn't provide too many sample settings--just 2--which is good, since you're left on your own to figure out your own "perfect" setting. Also, I think that a pedal, especially a distortion one, should have ONE unique sound and not 10 different distortion sounds that take everything away from it's character. No matter how much you tweak the knobs on this pedal, you'll never be too far away from the "signature" OD-3 tone/sound.

This is my setup (all the pedals are BOSS unless otherwise mentioned):

Fender Jazzmaster --> TU-2 Tuner --> OD-3 Overdrive --> BF-2 Flanger --> TR-2 Tremolo --> DD-3 Delay --> Roland JC-120

Now let me tell you just how good this pedal sounds: this pedal is the BEST OVERDRIVE pedal that I've *ever* played. It sounds so good through my JC-120 that I returned my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (which is a tube amp). So, in other words, this pedal sounds even better than Fender tube amps (at least the cheap and no-so-good ones like the Hot Rod Deluxe) when played through a guitar like the Fender Jazzmaster and an amp as awesome as the JC-120. It sounds just as advertised. You get a very nice, growly overdriven sound with all the knobs at 12 o'clock, and you get an amazing-sounding overdrive with the gain all the way up. I had bought the Blues Driver pedal in my search for a warm, tube-y distortion sound, since I'd heard and read so many good things about it. And in fact, I was initially impressed by it and thought that no pedal could surpass it in warmness. But when I demoed the OD-3 next to the Blues Driver in a store, the Blues Driver sound like a thin fuzz box. This doesn't mean that the Blues Driver is a bad pedal though--it's good if you want a harsher distortion sound (and it even sounds reasonably warm--but not warmer than the true sound of your guitar since it filters the bass--through a good amp), but if you want a truly amazing warm overdriven sound with ANY buzz or fuzz or hiss on the top, then get this pedal! It has *enough* gain and sustain so it's very versatile unlike the useless Boss OD-1 (which is *much* worse than the Blues Driver). I had initially developed a bad impression of the "OD" series of pedals since I'd used the OD-1 and the all the other overdrive/distortion pedals by BOSS, which gave me only a thin, GRAINY sound. The Blues Driver temporarily solved the problem. However, once I used the OD-3, I realized that even the Blues Driver wasn't free of graininess. My guitar distortion now sounds very nice, and even people like my mother, who hate *any* sort of distorted sound, don't seem to think of it as me making "noise" with my guitar. The pedal is very melodic and gives a new meaning to the word "overdrive," especially through a solid state amp.

Look at all the other reviews about this.

I've never dealt with BOSS or Roland.

My musical style ranges from minimalistic/textural rock (a la The Cure) to ambient rock (My Bloody Valentine) to noise-pop (The Jesus and Mary Chain) to harsh and "bleak" rock (Joy Division). With the OD-3, I can cover all the genres *easily.* I can get lovely sounds with slight overdrive and tremolo, and I can get screechingly harrowing, and yet fat and "big," sounds with the drive all the way up. This pedal creates a nice sound for the whole band.

I've been playing for about 9 years (I'm 21 now), and I firmly believe that this is the pedal that I've always been looking for, and it'll always be a part of my setup. I'm not really a person who has to have at least 10 pedals lined up on stage--I only need those pedals which are absolutely necessary for the texturalization of my sound, and this pedal is a must-have for all my distortion/overdrive needs.

By the way, if you're looking for distortion, and not overdrive, then don't invest in this pedal. I'd advice you to get a BOSS DS-1 or something (don't get the Metal Zone because it SUCKS). For my needs (and for anyone who wants vintage tube-amp distortion and yet wants the ultra-clean, even at high volumes, sound of a solid state amp like the JC-120), this pedal is perfect and irreplacable. Now I've started writing songs with enthusiasm again because I have the sound I want.

tres perillas : volumen , Drive(ganancia)y Tono ,de muy facil uso, y gran sonido,con un aire muy similar al "hot" de un amp.
?que mas?.

mi guitarra es una fender stratocaster american standard con mics Seymour Duncan JB - Fender original standard- S.D Jazz. y mis pedales son:Ernie Ball Volume mono,DOD Clasic fuzz, Boss Digital dimension RV-3, MXR Phase 90, Boss Tremolo-Pan PN-2.
Amp Gallien Krueguer Back Line 100Tuve por un tiempo un SansAmp y encontre un sonido con la llave puesta en Marshall, con ese pedal fui a recorrer las tiendas, comparando el sonido con otros pedales ,(ODs y distortions)y el que mas se acercaba era el OD3 seguido por el viejo boss SD-1 Super Overdrive,
La diferencia (ademas del precio) estaba en que cuenta con mas volumen, y en cierta "calidez natural" tipo valvular que el SD-1 no contaba, segun como machacara el sonido podia hacerse ahuecado tal como un amp valvular.
muy buen pedal.

Tal la calidad de boss, tiene aguante.
Practicamente indestructible.

En Argentina depende mas del tecnico que del service oficial.

punk,garage,grunge,rockabilly,funk,R&R.... No heavy metal, no country, No tecno...
Salvo el Carl Martin $250, el resto de los pedales de menor precio sonaban a transistores.
Si tienes un amp de estado solido este pedal le dara el toque valvular que necesitas, es ideal para guitarristas ritmicos (tal cual mi caso), por ej. el Ibanez TS9 solo sirve para puntear no para hacer base que llene.
Salvo el Carl Martin $250, el resto de los pedales de menor precio sonaban a transistores.
Si tienes un amp de estado solido este pedal le dara el toque valvular que necesitas, es ideal para guitarristas ritmicos (tal cual mi caso), por ej. el Ibanez TS9 solo sirve para puntear no para hacer base que llene.
Sonido cerca de K.Cobain, S.R.V., Reverend Horton Heat, Ramones, The Cramps, Dead kennedys, Palladines, Sonic youth,...

If you can boil water,this thing's a snap.

Hmm.I'm impressed!The OD-3 is a very warm overdrive with lotsa balls. I use it with a Fender Twin.I think it sounds the way a Twin would if it could "break up".Not overly bright,but very boomy.The color and old fashioned knobs are pleasing to the eye.It has a vintage look.The OD-3 sounds almost indentical to the TS-9,and sounds great with a wah-wah cause of it's smoothness.Y'all Bluesmen 'll dig it!

Pretty reliable.Could back it up with a TS-10.

???

Boss,I take back everything I said 'bout cha baby,the OD-3 is a cool gadget!I had some bad experiences with the SD-1,DS-1,MT-2 and OS-2,so I got a little jaded.The TS-9 is brighter,but the OD-3 has more gain and is beefier.Also,the OD-3 is a better clean boost.With the gain turned down,it's very clean.Wish it could get louder(boost)but nobody's perfect.If you can't get a TS-10,the OD-3 is a worthy substitute.I bought it cause I NEEDED a yellow overdrive box...I'm glad I got this one!

Very easy to use, hard to dial in a bad sound. Three knobs, Level, Tone, and Drive. On off stomp switch like all boss pedals.

Using this with a Strat Plus with Rio Grande pickups + Gibson Les Paul Special with Seymour Duncan 57s through 1967 Showman through Marshall 4x12 with Vintage 30s, or through my homemade tweed Deluxe or tweed champ. This is definately the best and most transparent pedal I've owned--but I haven't owned many. I'm not into pedals, but everybody with a nice clean one channel amp needs a good overdrive. This box surprised me, the EQ character was set up very well. It's very natural and musical. Smooth, dynamic, uncolored, meaty, not thin. Does the medim overdrive thing great, but for that on-the-edge-of-breakup territory, you'll have to run it into a cranked tube amp and use it as a level boost in addition to a little overdrive, which works well. Is also great for meaty rock chording and has a great strummy glassy Strat sound (using the neck or neck+mid pickups) if you turn up the tone. All the other pedals I've owned sounded like crap when I did this, all nasally.
<p>Mine is a little noisy, but it <i>is</I> yellow. It also says Boss, which is a funny company name.
<p>I'm sure there are all around better sounding overdrive pedals, especially as far as transparency and getting that slightly overdriven tone, but they cost $250-$300. For the money this pedal represents great value. Likewise, for the money, the DS-1's I've played also very pleasantly surprised me.

I think boss has a good reputation for reliability.

Never called Boss.

This is a great for blues and rock leads and rhthym, but I think it could also be of great value in modern rock, if you wanted an alternative lighter overdrive sound for leads or chords, i.e. use it as a secondary distortion pedal to your main crunch sound (as provided by your channel switching amp or your main distortion pedal).

Three knobs, one for tone. Very simple to set up.

I use an American Strat w/ a hot rails in the bridge. The OD 3 is warm with very little noise. I play through a Marshall tube combo and get excellent results. I can get a lot of overdrive/distortion with this rig, however, not a metal sound. I do get many complements on the tones I do get. Big, warm, tube-like overdrive or substantial clean boost is what this pedal does. It gets a 9 only because there are probably better sounding overdrive pedals(not much) out there if you want to spend hundreds of dollars.

Very reliable.

Never tried to reach Boss.

My band covers most styles of music. Whatever the kids want to hear we try to play. The OD 3 works well for everything we do (except heavy metal tunes). It reminds me of a tubescreamer with a little more bottom end and gain. I could be wrong about that, after all, I've only been playing night clubs for 18 years. It sounds really good in my rig (OD 3 / CE 2 / Phase 90 / DD 3). The DD3 is the only post amp effect in my simple set up. All in all, this is a great sounding overdrive pedal well worth the money spent.

Like all of my other Boss effects, the OD-3 is very easy to use. The manual wasn't of much use; but then again, this is an overdrive pedal not rocket science. I've had no problems dialing in a variety of good sounds on this unit.

I'm primarily using this with my American Strats (Strat Plus and a Standard) through a Fender Prosonic and a'65 Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue. I run my amps simultaneously and use the OD-3 for extra gain on blues solos. It sounds great without really changing the tonal characteristics of the amps. It does not thin your sound like other overdrive units. Very smooth with lots of sustain. It sounds great from very low levels to about 3 o'clock on the drive knob. There's lots of gain, although I don't use it with the drive wide open much. I also have an Ibanez TS-9, a Boss SD-1, and a Tech 21 XXL. The OD-3 has the best overall sound of the bunch.

I started using Boss pedals about 17 years ago and currently own about seven of their pedals. Despite heavy use of some of these units, I HAVE NEVER HAD A SINGLE PROBLEM WITH ANY OF THEM. The OD-3 is a solidly built, reliable device.

I've never had a problem so I've never had to deal with Boss.

I play rock, blues and metal. The OD-3 works very well for blues through a clean channel. I don't use it much as a boost pedal for an already distorted signal but it has worked well for this purpose too. I've been playing for about 25 years. I have alot of gear (I never seem to get around to selling much of it). I have Fender, Gibson and Ibanez electric guitars. I have five amps -- mostly Fenders. If it were lost or stolen, I'd replace it. My only criticism is that the signal does not have a ton of punch. On the other hand, one of things I like about it, is that it is relatively transparent. Overall, it's a great effect.

It's easy to get sound out of it.The manual is junk not very useful.
3 knobs tone, level, drive

Very quiet pedal by itself. The overdrive is pretty good as a boost, but when you crank the drive it is way to bassy. You can put the tone all the right and it just won't get rid of any of the bass.I used it with a Marshall and a Crate and the effect was the same on both of them. I bought it for playing the songs on the first Black Sabbath album, but my SD-1 is best for that. It doesn't compare to the Tubescreamer like everyone says.

Boss Better than Jim Dunlop

Try it out before you buy it you may like it or not. I didn't try it and I hate the thing

Pretty straight-forward to use. Three knobs: Level, Tone, and Drive. Very easy to get the sound you want out of this pedal.

Fender American Standard Lone Star Strat (H/S/S) ---> Dunlop Crybaby Wah-->Boss GE-7--> Boss OD-3-->EHX Small Stone-->DOD Icebox Chorus-->Boss DD-5-->Marshall Valvestate 100R <--(crap)

I use this instead of the VS's crappy OD1 Channel. Works very nicely. I haven't compared it to the other Boss overdrive pedals but this one sounds very nice and gives a good crunchy sound. I also use it sometimes to get a little extra bite with my amp's distortion. Sounds kinda like the intro guitar on Radiohead's "Optimistic."

It's a Boss

Never had to deal with them.

Like I said above, if you are looking for a good overdrive pedal, this makes a nice addition to your pedalboard.

3 Knobs: Level, tone, drive. Everything self expalanatory and if you should need help the manual is a good guidance for beginners. It's pritty easy to get a good sound of it.

I love to use it for soloing and single line riffing. It has really nice fat sound with just the right amount of bass to prevent you from getting muddy. It's not noisy, not even with single coils (my guitars are all perfectly shielded). It reacts very good to guitars volume adjustment, cleans up nicely. If drive setting is at extreme it compresses nicely, improves sustain.

Boss = undestructable.

Never had to deal with them. I have six other Boss pedals and all of them do each 'n every day what they have to do nicely. Good manufacturing quality and experiencing no problems is indeed the best support.

I play hard rock, blues rock. This pedal gives me a good tone, which I wouldn't want to miss. So, if stolen or lost, I would definetly get another one. It gives me the tone I grove up with (playing since more than 20 years). With this pedal I'm Rory Galagher, SRV, Ritchie Blackmore,... all the guys with the classic tone. Good bang for the buck. Period.

Very easy to use. A drummer could figure it out.

I'm running a Fender Deluxe Strat Plus with two silver lace sensor pickups and a hot rails in the bridge. Then into the OD-3, into Blues Driver into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with a 1x12 sealed back extension cabinet. I changed the speaker in both the amp and cabinet to a Jensen C12K for a deeper sound. Not noisy at all. The pedal produces a very smooth overdrive sound. It works very well with single coil pickups. Probally the best OD from Boss (I tried them all). In the Boss catologue its listed as the smoothest OD pedal and I'd have to agree with them. It is smoother than the Blues Driver and more natural sounding. Running two OD pedals together produces a very saturated but smooth sound. Similiar to that of Boston or even Van Halen or SRV. Sounds strange but the pedal on its own through the HRD nails the SRV sound. Adding another pedal in series produces long sustain and a creamy Van Halen 1 sound. Remember that pedals running in series multiplys in output. For example, two pedals with a 20 mA output produces 400 mA. Two pedals in running in parallel produces 40 mA of output. The mild overdrive from this pedal provides soft clipping which helps eliminate that "round" Fender clean sound. This is the basic principle of the Tube Screamer. (When SRV uses the Tube Screamer, it produced more output, not more gain. SRV used his TS to boost the Power amp, thus the amp produced the distortion. From time to time SRV claims he used 2 Tube Screamers). Then run another pedal to overdrive the first pedal. Try running three pedals in series for a smooth but extremely overdriven sound. Most Fender amps only have 2 or three gain stages within. Soldano's and 5150's will run 5 and 6 gain stages within. This distortion can easily be duplicated by running your pedals in series. Overall, a really good pedal.

Only had it for 1 week. I don't forsee any problems. Never had a problem with a BOSS product.

The pedal is a perfect match for the style of music I play. I've been playing for 20 years. I own 11 guitars but mostly play the one Strat listed above. If lost or stolen, I'd replace it. I like the sound, hate the price. Overall, this pedal enhances my sound. Why anyone would give this pedal a bad review makes no sense. Why the hell did you by it? Bring YOUR guitar and YOUR amp to the store and try it!!!